WSJ/NBC Poll: Americans Take Debt Ceiling Seriously

A WSJ/NBC poll released today shows Republicans who continue to deny the catastrophic consequences of failing to pay our bills are out of touch with the majority of Americans. According to the poll, most Americans believe default would be a “a real and serious problem.” Democrats are committed to avoiding the consequences of default and continue to advocate for a large, balanced package to reduce the deficit and ensure we pay our nation’s bills.

WSJ/NBC Poll: Americans Take Debt Ceiling Seriously

A clear majority of the American public now believes a failure by Congress to raise the nation’s statutory debt ceiling would be a real and serious problem, dismissing arguments by some Republicans that the coming debt ceiling deadline is no big deal, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.

For months, a majority of Americans have opposed raising the debt ceiling, giving license to politicians to take a hard line on budget negotiations in Washington. But as the debate has heated up, voter attention has focused on the specifics, the poll suggests. Now 55% say that failing to raise the debt ceiling would be a real and serious problem while only 18% do not believe that. A quarter of the public still say they don’t know enough about the issue to make a decision.

Republicans who continue to maintain that the government can avoid defaulting on its debts even with no increase to the borrowing limit might be listening to their core tea-party supporters. Of voters who identify themselves as tea-party supporters, one-third say failing to lift the ceiling would present no significant problems. But even in this group, a plurality, 47%, say it would be a serious issue. That number mirrors the overall percentage of all Republicans who worry about the consequences of doing nothing.

And those people who feel their economic situation has gotten worse over the last 12 months are among the most worried, with 60% of them saying failure to lift the ceiling would have real and serious consequences.